Sumgong wins women's Olympic marathon; protester removed

ROB HARRIS

Published 8:52 am, Sunday, August 14, 2016

Photo: Felipe Dana

Image 1of/6

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 6

Jemima Jelagat Sumgong, of Kenya, celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win the womens marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Jemima Jelagat Sumgong, of Kenya, celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win the womens marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Photo: Felipe Dana

Image 2 of 6

Jemima Jelagat Sumgong, of Kenya, celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win the gold medal in the womens marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) less

Jemima Jelagat Sumgong, of Kenya, celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win the gold medal in the womens marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. (AP ... more

Kenya's Jemima Jelagat Sumgong competes to win the women's marathon as protesters hold up signs against Brazil's interim President Michael Temer, in the finish area of the Summer Olympics athletics event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. (Johannes Eisele/Pool Photo via AP) less

Kenya's Jemima Jelagat Sumgong competes to win the women's marathon as protesters hold up signs against Brazil's interim President Michael Temer, in the finish area of the Summer Olympics athletics event in Rio ... more

Kenya's Jemima Jelagat Sumgong runs to the finish line before winning the women's marathon during the Summer Olympics athletics event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. (Johannes Eisele/Pool ... more

Photo: JOHANNES EISELE

Image 6 of 6

Gold medalist Jemima Jelagat Sumgong, of Kenya, cries after the playing of the Kenyan national anthem following her victory in the womens marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) less

Gold medalist Jemima Jelagat Sumgong, of Kenya, cries after the playing of the Kenyan national anthem following her victory in the womens marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, ... more

Photo: Robert F. Bukaty

Sumgong wins women's Olympic marathon; protester removed

1 / 6

Back to Gallery

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Jemima Jelagat Sumgong became the first Kenyan to win the women's Olympic marathon Sunday after a scary moment near the finish when police intercepted a man who nearly marred the event.

Sumgong completed the course in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 4 seconds to give Kenya its first gold medal in Rio.

Kenyan-born Eunice Kirwa, who now runs for Bahrain, was nine seconds behind and world champion Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia took bronze.

With about a kilometer to go to the finish line at the Sambodromo parade grounds, a man with a sign jumped over barriers along the route ahead of Sumgong and the other runners, and two police on bikes immediately cut him off. The protester then jumped over fencing on the left side of the road, and Sumgong and the other runners continued unhindered.

"I was scared," Sumgong said initially. "I thinking he could maybe ... he could grab one of my colleagues."

When Sumgong ran the London Marathon in April, a man tried to intercept her there. But the outcome was the same: Victory for the 31-year-old Kenyan.

"I was never worried that I'd lose this," Sumgong said. "At 40 kilometers, I knew the gold was mine. At 35 kilometers, I noticed that my other two teammates had dropped off, and that gave me the motivation to carry on.

"At 40 kilometers, I saw there were three of us, but I knew whatever happened, I couldn't lose the gold and then I knew I was on the way to history," she said.

The breakaway began with about seven kilometers to go.

"It was very hot, but everybody had to get through the heat," Sumgong said. "I had to control my body and listen to my body very carefully."

Sumgong is only the third Kenyan woman to become an Olympic champion, following wins on the track at the 2008 Beijing Games for Pamela Jelimo (800 meters) and Nancy Jebet Langat (1,500 meters).

"I was in Beijing but I was pretty disappointed that I wasn't able to win a medal or make it on the podium," Sumgong said. "But I knew one time, one day, I'd be somewhere. I'm so happy. I feel extremely proud."

Only two of the Estonian triplets in the marathon completed the race. Lily Luik was the fastest of the 30-year-old sisters, clocking 2 hours, 48 minutes, 29 seconds to finish in 97th place.